State Wants to Return $20 Million in Undelivered Tax Refunds

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Sacramento – The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) announced it is holding more than $20 million in returned state income tax refunds.

This year nearly 47,500 refunds, ranging from $1 to $50,000, were returned by the US Postal Service. Taxpayers who moved after they filed their returns and failed to update their addresses are the main reason refunds are returned.

Taxpayers can update an address through the MyFTB Account feature on FTB's website. Once an address is updated, FTB reissues returned refunds automatically.

Taxpayers expecting a state refund or unsure if they received their refund, can access FTB’s Check Your Refund Status. This service is available in both English and Spanish.

Preventing a delayed refund is easy. Taxpayers who choose direct deposit of their refunds into their bank accounts receive their refunds quickly. Direct deposit occurs within days rather than waiting weeks for a paper refund check. This year, nearly 60 percent of taxpayers chose direct deposit, an increase of 5 percent over last year’s totals. More than $6.3 billion was directly deposited into their bank accounts.

As of November 24, FTB issued more than 10.7 million refunds worth $10.5 billion.

Editor's note: Call for breakdown by county and city.

For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit taxes.ca.gov.